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YJs + Tantrums HCs

Mel: She just gets overwhelmed so easily and has inadvertently been taught that tantrumming is a quick way to get taken somewhere quiet and private and to have someone to pay attention to calming her down. She won't do it as much if they're in the car or out somewhere because she's too anxious about drawing attention, but the feelings will get built up to be released once they're home again and the smallest thing will set her off. Tripped up the steps coming inside? Instant tears. Gen accidentally stepped on the back of her shoe? She's shoving at Gen and stomping her foot. They very quickly learn that trying to reason with an upset Mel just makes her more upset because deep down she does know that it's fine that she fell, she's okay and no one even noticed, but it's not really even about the falling, it's about a million other things that irked her or made her feel icky. Van's usually the one to deal with a Mel tantrum if she's feeling older because she's got such a calming presence that Mel usually tuckers out pretty quick and collapses against her.

Akilah: Not huge on tantrumming because she's much more likely to go hide if she's feeling really upset. The times that she will throw a fit is when she gets the sense that she's being ignored or not being taken seriously. If she's trying to explain to Tai why she needs to go outside at ten at night because she saw a stray cat limping through their yard and Tai's not really listening, Akilah can go from zero to one hundred very quickly. She's quiet about it, but once the tears start, they have to run their course. She secretly really likes it when Tai picks her up and walks her in slow circles, which generally gets her to calm down. The first time the others saw her throw a tantrum, they were a little stunned. Mari immediately tried to jump in to help, which Akilah did not like at first, but Mari very quickly learned how to exist calmly near Akilah without being oppressive in a way that was helpful.

Van: She's actually very reserved about her "negative" emotions, even when she's smaller. Van's big with her excitement and amusement, but she's quiet about sadness and anxiety. There are times, as there are with everyone, where she can't control having an emotional outburst, but generally if she's gonna throw a tantrum, it's gonna be because she's been pushing down those feelings for a while, so they seem to come out of nowhere a lot of the time. Tai's always the best bet to calm her down, but Nat's a close second. She doesn't "bounce back" after a tantrum like Mari or Mel might because they verge into meltdown territory for her. If one happens, she's out of commission for the day. She'll be quieter and cling to Tai, quicker to get upset over smaller things, and she does not want to be the ringleader for anything whatsoever whereas she'd usually be game.

Lottie: Doesn't really do tantrums because she's very responsive to being comforted. Like, she'll start to get really upset, but as long as someone notices and deals with it, she doesn't get into full fit territory because it's very soothing to her to know that people care enough to see when she's upset. If it doesn't get addressed, she'll cry for ages, even once someone does scoop her up. It makes her feel very vulnerable to feel like she was left to deal with her upset alone, even if that wasn't anyone's intention.

Nat: Almost never has them. She's generally a little too anxious about allowing that much emotion to come through because growing up, a tantrum was dealt with in a not-good way. Even as she gets a little more comfortable expressing herself around the others, she's inclined to go hide or seek out one specific person if she feels herself getting really upset. The times that it has happened were when she was smaller than usual and got the sense that someone around her was going to be hurt in some way. Like Van talked back to Shauna at snack time and Shauna raised her hand (to pick up Van's juice to swap it out for milk), but Nat freaked out and pitched a fit to distract Shauna. Even once she realized Shauna wasn't going to hurt Van, she'd gotten herself so worked up that she couldn't calm herself down without help.

Shauna: Will have more "traditional" tantrums if she's feeling smaller, but otherwise it'll look more like an argument. She's prone to throwing toys and things, which is a habit that everyone picks up on pretty quickly and Tai clears the room if she senses one coming. Tai deals with them by wrapping Shauna up in a huge bear hug. Shauna generally struggles against it at first but Tai knows the difference between "I'm just angry" wiggling and "you actually need to let me go right now" wiggling. Unlike a lot of the others, Shauna does not respond well to being talked through what caused the tantrum. Jackie and Tai have a journal that they use to write back and forth with Shauna instead of talking. It's easier for her to process her thoughts/feelings through writing, but they don't want to leave her alone to deal with them.

Jackie: She really doesn't like having her tantrums acknowledged. She has them frequently enough, but they're usually kinda mild unless someone points it out (like Mari running into the other room to announce that Jackie's crying again) or approaches comforting her in an overtly caring way. She doesn't want to be told it's okay to have big feelings or that she'll feel much better once she gets it out. Shauna's method of dealing is to scoop Jackie up and take her into a different room to just sit for a while or stick her on her hip to "help" do chores while she lets Jackie cry it out. Nat's similar where she'll drop a craft or book or something in front of her while she waits for Jackie to calm down and become interested in the new thing. They both, of course, offer hugs and such, but distraction is a big thing for Jackie.

Gen: Her emotional regulation skills are pretty good, but when she gets fed up with feeling like a doormat, she'll explode. If she's been walked over all day—she tried to speak up about what she wanted for snack but got bulldozed by Mel, she tried to ask for a certain movie but Van only heard Mari's excited yell, she wanted to go outside but Tai told her no without telling her why—she'll snap back and storm off. Mel usually finds her crying into her pillow or huddled outside in the garden and sits with her until she's calm again. She'll advocate for Gen in literally any scenario, even if Gen did hit out at Mari for taking a toy from her, because in Mel's mind, Gen is always in the right.

Mari: Probably the most frequent trantrummer. She's very reactive and tends to not deal with emotions internally. A lot of her tantrums stem from her getting defensive about something, which makes calming her down kind of hard because she tends to resist it in order to prove her point (i.e. she did not cry over Shauna taking her toy or she did not nearly have an accident in the car, Gen, stop saying that!) The best person to calm her down depends on the crux of the tantrum; Van's her preferred person if she's feeling out of control and like the world's ending, Shauna is the best person to deal with an angry Mari, and Lottie's really good with an overtired Mari. For a while, they try sending Mari to time out or something after she throws a fit, but they quickly stop doing that and start focusing on helping her sort out what caused the tantrum and how she can make reparations if needed.

Tai: Just getting her to sleep when she's smaller is usually a one-way ticket to tantrum town. She doesn't know how else to stop Van from trying to get her into her pajamas except throwing a fit about it. She hasn't quite put together that she can do that and still end up having to go to bed, but the emotional release is sometimes helpful for getting her tuckered out and laying down, even if Van hates having to hold Tai back from trying to sprint out the door because Tai is fast and will outrun everyone except Shauna. The times that she has managed to escape were terrifying and had both Shauna and Van sleeping in their trainers whenever Tai was regressed for a while.

Misty: She won't usually get into tantrum territory if she's with other people because someone will recognize her getting upset and if it's acknowledged, she can generally be calmed down again. If she's alone, she can work herself into a frenzy over something very quickly. Nat's found Misty sobbing in her room and throwing stuff at the walls more times than the blonde girl would really like to admit. She likes to be talked to rationally and kindly when she's really upset. She doesn't want to be babied or have her feelings belitted and it's comforting for her to hear things laid out plainly and factually, which Nat is really good at ("If you keep crying, we might miss dinner, which means it'll be cold. It's okay if it is, because we can warm it up again, but it might not taste the same." or "You did hurt Mari when you pushed her in the yard, but she's not going to hate you forever. She's going to want an apology, but you can do that. None of this will feel so bad tomorrow morning.")

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Cg!shauna giving lil mel piggy backs wherever they go, long hiking walk with everyone? Mels tired and asleep on shaunas back on the way home

Ohhh I love that!

I think generally, Mel would love hiking and being outdoors, exploring the woods and playing games and climbing trees and all that good stuff. Like I think they all would enjoy it but I can imagine Mari being initially more reluctantly (until she sees Lottie is up for it: she doesnt want Lottie to think shes lame) and Jackie maybe needing to be bribed a bit to come (although Shauna asking her makes her more likely to do it for Shauna) but Mel is super keen.

I can also see her getting tired out the most quickly too: like she still is happy to be there, she doesn't even realise she's getting tired, its more that everyone keeps being mean and leaving her behind a bit when theyre walking (not on purpose! But mels walking speed goes a lot slower suddenly) and rather than just catching up like she usually would it makes her a bit pouty and sad, and when they're playing a game as they walk she cant think up her answers quickly enough and Mari smirks which makes her yell that Mari is being mean and when Tai gently tells her it's ok, just settle down, she's even more pouty because its so unfairrr and when she trips she has to try so hard not to cry even though shes just landed on very soft pine needles.

Maybe Tai suggests they take a break at this point (Mel is almost verging on a tantrum and demanding a bandaid and Tai is gently explaining that she doesnt need one-) and Shauna looks over to see Mel is huddled up with her arms wrapped around her knees, sniffling and sucking her thumb and looking really tired and sad and a bit overwhelmed and so Shauna goes and sits with her, puts an arm around her so Mel can snuggle up into her side and requests a veryyy quick story from Van while they rest....and then when it's time to get up, she offers Mel a ride and Mel cheers up almost immediately bc she's getting special attention from Shauna AND she doesn't need to walk anymore-and she dozes off pretty quickly, even though her position isn't the most comfy. When they get to the car, Mel gets into the car right after Shauna, snuggles back down on her shoulder and falls right back to sleep almost right away.

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Laura Lee buys some toys one day when they’re on sale, for the house to share communally. Jigsaws, playdough, Lego, stuffed animals and a couple of baby dolls. Shauna doesn’t usually like dolls, but ends up playing with them one day with Jackie. Jackie asks Shauna if she wants the girl or boy doll, and Shauna shrugs and takes the boy one, because she knows Jackie wants the one with the pretty dress and bow. All Shauna wants to do is push it around in the pushchair anyway ( and watch it come flying out when she pushes the pushchair down the stairs at full speed). But holding a baby boy doll starts to make Shauna feel a bit funny, and when Jackie gets the toy doctors kit out, and declares that the baby is sick it makes things ten time worse. She’s trying not to have a panic attack whilst Jackie is using the stethoscope to listen the heartbeat and giving the baby lots of medicine and shots. A tear rolls down Shauna’s eyes as she keeps telling herself ‘it’s not your baby, pull yourself together’. ‘It’s plastic’. ‘Stop being stupid’.

Little!Shauna - Doll

I got this exact ask multiple times so I think anon forgot, OR two of you are psychically linked which is CRAZY. Anyway, it was a really cool ask and i’d definitely do a part 2 if its wanted!

Notes -> little!shauna, cg!tai, ptsd, infant death

Word count: 1825

They didn’t get new toys often, so it was a huge novelty when Tai and Laura Lee came home with a massive bag donning the label of the local toy store. Little heads swiveled to the door at the sound of it opening, and squeaks of excitement soon followed once the familiar label was recognised.

Immediately hands were grabbing eagerly as the new toys were laid out on the living room floor. Shauna hung back a little bit, not wanting to seem babyish for getting excited over dumb toys - which were probably baby toys anyway given how excited Mari seemed by them.

Jackie came over to where Shauna was watching from the couch, a bundle in her arms and a triumphant look on her face. “I got the best ones,” she whispered eagerly to Shauna. “And we get to play with them first, let's go.” For Jackie, Shauna supposed she’d go play. Besides she didn’t even really know what the toys were yet and maybe they’d be cool. Jackie led them up to her bedroom, and closed the door behind them before revealing two baby dolls. “Look, a boy and a girl,” she grinned, setting them down on her bed. “Which one do you want?” Shauna looked at the two dolls - and the way Jackie’s fingers were trailing over the bow on the ‘girl’ doll’s head.

“I’ll take this one,” she shrugged, taking the baby dressed in a blue onesie. She didn’t really mind anyway, already planning how she’d use the play pram to send them flying down the stairs. Jackie couldn’t hide how her face lit up as she got the girly doll, immediately taking it into her arms.

“We can both be Mamas, and our babies are best friends.” Jackie detailed as she began rifling through her existing doll accessories. “And one day, when they grow up, they’ll fall in love.”

“Kay,” Shauna nodded, grabbing her doll by the hand and pulling out Jackie’s play pram. She busied herself strapping the baby in. “I’m gonna take this one for a walk,” she explained, not wanting to ruin Jackie’s game by exposing her true plan. When Jackie didn’t respond, Shauna looked up to see Jackie had found Misty’s play medical kit which must’ve been left in here from the last time they played together. Shauna’s heart instantly dropped, seeing Jackie settle the medical kit next to her baby.

“Our babies are sick,” Jackie explained, grabbing Shauna’s baby out of the pram and laying it on the floor. Shauna shuffled a little away - panic filling her body as she watched Jackie begin prodding the babies with fake injections.

Jackie thought sick baby was going to be the most fun new game. She put on Misty’s play stethoscope and began loudly declaring whether or not she could hear the babies crying. She thought Misty would most absolutely like it, and Van would probably enjoy the theatrics too. She looked up to see if Shauna was going to chime in anytime soon, but noticed the older girl wasn’t sitting in front of her anymore. Confused, Jackie pushed hair out of her face and perked up onto her knees, looking around her room. She found Shauna curled up in the corner of the room, face pale and tight. She instantly felt bad, realising Shauna must be upset that she had snatched the doll off her. Jackie quickly picked up the boy doll and took it to Shauna, “Sorry,” she urged as she held the doll out to Shauna.

Shauna grabbed the doll roughly and held it against her chest, heaving in heavy breaths. Jackie bit her lip in worry as Shauna didn’t seem to stop being upset, instead beginning to mutter to herself. “Stupid, stupid,” she cursed - voice rough in a way that made Jackie shuffle back a bit. “It’s not real, not real.”

“It’s fun to pretend though?" Jackie offered, confused how the game had upset her so much.

“Your baby is dead.” Oh. Jackie suddenly realised this was much more than she was equipped to handle. She quickly shot up and ran to go get Tai.

When Jackie explained the situation - herself already in tears from guilt - Tai was quick to pass her off to Lottie and run upstairs to find Shauna.

Shauna was rocking back and forth, the doll tucked tightly against her chest and tears streaming down her face. Tai crouched down next to her, noticing then the dampness of the floor around her. “Oh, Shauna,” she sighed softly, pulling Shauna into her arms. Shauna hurried herself into Tai and began calming down immediately at the comfort. “It's awful I know, I’m sorry,” Tai whispered. “But it’s not your fault, yeah? None of it.” She kept whispering her practiced comforts until Shauna stopped shaking.

Once Tai was sure Shauna wasn’t about to lash out or break down further, she wordlessly picked Shauna up, moving to take the doll from her hands before noticing the death grip Shauna still had on it. She decided to let it go for now, carrying Shauna to her room and shooting Akilah a ‘we’re not going to talk about this’ look when she walked past. Shauna was pliant enough as Tai changed her, silently twisting her fingers around the fabric of the doll’s onesie as Tai cleaned her up and put her in a pull-up and into a pair of soft red plaid flannel pajamas. No arguments there. Once she was changed, Tai probed gently for words but got nothing at all. “Right, let’s go downstairs. Jackie’s a bit freaked out and I’m sure she’d want cuddles and tv time with you,” Tai cooed softly, she figured if nothing else she could at least keep Shauna comfortable.

As Tai had expected, Jackie was still distraught when they got downstairs. She was curled up in Lottie’s arms with red, teary eyes and her thumb in her mouth. She sat up anxiously when she saw Shauna. “Shauna’s feeling a little smaller than usual,” Tai explained gently to Jackie. “Do you think you could give her some cuddles? I’ve gotta put some laundry on?” Jackie fiddled anxiously with her sleeve, plucking her thumb out of her mouth.

“What if I hurt her?” She asked quietly, eyes held deliberately away from anyone else.

Tai’s lips tightened sadly, she sat down on the couch next to Jackie and Lottie, with Shauna on her lap. “You won’t hurt her, Jax. Not on purpose, yeah? What happened before was just an accident, ok? It’s not your fault, neither of you knew she’d get upset.” Jackie sniffled hesitantly nodding ur not truly believing Tai. She didn’t need to though, because Shauna reached out for her with the arm which wasn’t holding the baby doll. Jackie’s face melted with relief and she let Shauna climb into her arms.

“I can take care of her,” she decided, instantly beginning to baby Shauna just the same way she’d have taken care of her baby doll. Usually Shauna would whine and protest this, especially from Jackie who was always younger, but right now she just nuzzled into Jackie and held her doll close. They stayed like that until dinner, when Tai came to call them to the table. Instead of even trying to walk, Shauna made grabby hands for Tai to pick her up. There were a few glances and wide eyes when Shauna was carried to the table, holding a baby doll and whining to sit on Tai’s lap.

“I thought those dolls were for sharing,” Mari grumbled as she dropped down into the seat opposite Tai and Shauna - fueled by jealousy over Shauna being allowed to sit on Tai’s lap when she’d been told just last night she couldn’t sit on Van’s lap at dinner time.

Tai let out an exhausted breath, looking to Van for backup. “We’ll talk about it later Mar, eat up so you can have ice cream for dessert first ok?” While Tai would not have used ice cream as a way to divert the conversation, it worked, and immediately Mari was shovelling dinner into her mouth. Shauna showed much less enthusiasm, turning her nose up at everything other than yogurt which Lottie eventually brought out.

“Almost there,” Tai praised, guiding the spoon up to Shauna’s mouth. Shauna shifted a little, and in Tai’s haste to prevent her falling, the doll was knocked to the floor. Shauna immediately burst into tears, shrieking and wailing in a way that had Misty and Jackie covering their ears and even Lottie wincing at the sound. Van grabbed the doll and handed it over as Tai was quick to take Shauna out of the kitchen and up to her bedroom. Her back was going to hurt badly tomorrow but right now she couldn’t see Shauna being willing to walk.

“Here baby, look, your doll is right here,” Tai soothed, pressing the doll to Shauna’s chest where it had been held all afternoon. Once Shauna felt the weight of the baby in her arms she calmed down, rubbing her forehead against the plastic head of the doll. “That’s right, that’s right.” Tai rubbed firm circles on Shauna’s back until she was sure the smaller girl was completely calm again. Only once Shauna was breathing softly again did Tai begin to move her onto the bed. Shauna whined a little, squirming to stay closer to Tai. “I know, bub, I’m right here. Why don’t we get your baby into some jammies?” Tai offered - trying to think of a way to distract Shauna for a little while.

Shauna sniffled a little, “warm?”

“Yeah, we can make sure the baby's warm.”

Tai got Shauna set up in the playroom to shuffle through the shared supply of doll clothes before sticking her head out the door to call for Van. Van, who had been doling out bowls of ice cream to excited littles on the couch looked up immediately. She passed off the last bowl to a very eager Mel and came straight over. “Shauna good?” She asked quietly so none of the other littles would hear. Tai glanced back into the playroom where Shauna was whispering to the doll.

“She’s… ok. Could you get us a bottle? I’m going to try to get her into bed.” Van nodded, looking at Shauna over Tai’s shoulder before turning to go make up the bottle.

Tai returned to Shauna, who’d dressed the baby up in a onesie and a winter coat which was definitely made for American girl dolls and not babies. “Is he all ready for bed?” She asked, Shauna nodded, standing up and leaning against Tai to ask to be lifted. Tai picked her up, balancing Shauna on her hip.

Van brought the bottle into Shauna’s room once Tai had her settled in bed. She let Shauna keep holding the baby as she fed her the bottle, even though usually hard toys weren’t allowed in the bed. It would be ok for one night.

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babyre! javi martinez moodboard !!

[sunlight-apollo]

˖ ࣪⭑ little!lottie headcanons

requested by anon

warnings/notes: padded agere, cg!laura lee, physc hospital && flashbacks referred to

lotties got a much bigger age range than her teamates (2-6) though she's most often regressed on the younger side.

no matter how little she's feeling, she's non speaking when regressed, but she's certainly not quiet! she'll laugh, giggle, point, coo and cry.

i headcanon lottie as autistic, and i believe that when she's feeling little, she's much more prone to unmasking and stimming, her favourite stim is rocking back and forth.

if regressed young, she's very much dependent on a cg, her favourite is laura lee, she's just so gentle with her and always manages to figure out what's bothering her.

lottie often has flashbacks of the wilderness, plus everything that happened at the hospital after, as @butchereg mentioned in an old post, being called charlotte is a trigger for these flashbacks

when on the younger side of her regression she's padded, this is something her and laura lee have agreed is for the better, lottie isn't too ashamed of it due to laura lees gentleness.

little!lottie loves having her hair done, she has a million different accessories!

she has a hard time with tv, often finding herself "too into" the show or movie, feeling very deeply for the characters, even though they aren't.

little!lottie loves blankets so so much, they are her favourite thing ever. she has a special pink blanket, with just the right texture to calm her down.

another comfort item is her pacifier, it almost always immediately sothes her, she has a bunch of them, in many different colors. her favourite one is a purple one, which has a star where a little "L" for lottie is written.

if regressed a little older she loves being with van or nat, though they're her playmates, not caregivers. the three of them are always running around in the backyard playing their silly games.

she loves the park so much, she loves being pushed on the swings, sliding down the slides and running around with her friends!

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Do you have any shauna and lottie or tai and lottie thoughts :)

Sure thing!

Tai + Lottie

They get along most of the time, but they have such different ways of doing things that they get into disagreements fairly often. When they’re both older, they can usually resolve it with minimal shoving (even if Van has to step in sometimes). When one is smaller and the other isn’t, they don’t tend to get into arguments as much, and when they’re both little, they can be prone to getting physical with each other. Tai gets really protective over Shauna and doesn’t always like the way Lottie chooses to deal with her when she’s struggling. Lottie’s a big believer in letting people get their feelings out in whatever way works for them, but Tai knows how hard it can be for Shauna to approach stuff logically when she’s really upset and doesn’t agree with Lottie’s strategy of allowing Shauna to be really aimlessly angry until it fizzles out.

Lottie’s really good at helping Van get little Tai to sleep. She’ll usually come in as Van’s trying to get Tai down just to talk a little and give her some reassurance about her sleepwalking. As much as they can argue, Tai does have a lot of trust in Lottie.

Tai also secretly likes getting asked to care for Lottie when no one else can because it gives her a good reason to slow down and just sit quietly for a while. Lottie usually ends up dozing off against Tai and while she won’t sleep, she finds it nice to relax so as not to disturb her. They’re one of the best caregiving duos. Together they can get the entire house down to bed in less than an hour and if they really work, they can get everyone through a car trip with minimal incident. Between Tai being very pragmatic and very attuned to people’s individual needs and Lottie’s ability to distract people and mediate conflict, they make a good team.

Lottie + Shauna

They agree on the weirdest stuff. Like Shauna will have a very niche opinion that store brand tomato sauce is better than the big brand kind, but only if it’s from this specific store and Lottie will come home with that exact tomato sauce like “this is the best one don’t argue with me.”

Shauna will never admit it, but she really likes the shows that get put on for little Lottie and will find excuses to hang around so that she can watch them too.

Lottie secretly admires how fierce Shauna gets when she’s angry because she feels like she could never be that open with her anger. Angry Lottie is a quiet and sad Lottie.

Lottie subconsciously tries to keep Shauna and Nat apart when she’s caring for them. None of them notice her habit of doing that that until Van asks about it and she realizes she has some stuff to work through regarding that.

Shauna thinks Lottie is really funny and is usually the first person to laugh when she makes a really dry joke that flies over some of the others’ heads.

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Jackie vision board

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Mari being really on top of making sure Van eats regularly. Mostly because she’s really into rules and following the routine

Oh I love that idea so much! After Van’s tendency to forgot to eat is realized, Mari starts reminding her (big or small). She’ll try to share her snacks with Van when she’s smaller and when she’s older, she’ll check in with Van every so often. For a while, she scolds Van for not eating because that’s “against the rules,” but she learns quickly not to do that because it’ll just make Van shut down and not listen to her. Tai’s honestly very grateful to have another set of eyes on Van so she’s not the only one monitoring.

Thanks for sharing!

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How do you think they would handle a heatwave? I’m being self indulgent because I’m in a heatwave right now, but I think van, Melissa, Shauna and Mari would be so annoyed when tai says they have to stay inside between 11am and 3pm because ‘that’s basically the whole day’, but they would absolutely love having water fights outside every evening , and then having ice cream

Van is very sensitive to the sun and so absolutely has to stay inside, which she hates. The others obviously have to as well, and get frustrated. Lottie and Laura Lee set up heaps of activities to keep the littles occupied all day. They keep the air conditioning on as often as possible because everyone gets whiny and overstimulated when it’s hot. Jackie doesn’t love having the aircon on too high because she hates the cold, and usually will be walking around inside with a blanket over her shoulders. During the day when it’s super hot they’ll run baths for the littles to play in. Mel and Van LOVE baths especially for playing. Mari will complain about the heat 24/7 just for the sake of complaining. Akilah begs to go take water out for any stray animals and reluctantly Tai lets her go out for five minutes max with a hat and sunscreen. They watch heaps of movies to try keep the littles occupied. Lottie makes yogurt and fruit iceblocks to the littles can have as many as they want since they are healthy, but still get excited because it’s like ice cream. Evening swimming and water fights are a must, and usually the day ends with Nat bringing home proper ice cream and charcoutery (guys im sick and can’t spell pls tell me this is close enough) dinner because no one wants to cook in the heat.

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Mel getting anxious about a change in routine

Well, I Wood, But... - Little!Mel

Summary: As seen above! Mel likes their Friday routine and the idea of doing something different isn't exactly exciting to her. I'm not gonna lie, I didn't even consider that they might all have an aversion to hanging out in the woods after the wilderness until the very end, so lets pretend they're doing exposure therapy on themselves and everyone's fine with it now 🙈

Mel couldn't help but wriggle excitedly in place as she brushed her teeth, shifting from foot to foot as energy thrummed into her legs. It was Friday, which meant that it was lunch in the woods day, which was maybe Mel's favorite thing to do ever. She got to pack her lunch into her racecar lunchbox and wear her cool hiking boots, which had orange laces and made her feel like an explorer on an expedition. Sometimes she was even allowed to climb up onto boulders or onto a low branch of a tree to eat her lunch. The best part came at the end, when everyone was worn out from the hike and whoever was driving made the executive decision to stop for ice cream. It didn't always happen, but Mel had a good feeling about this time.

She spat her toothpaste out in the sink, carefully rinsing her toothbrush before placing it back into the cup with her name on it. Her hair was still hanging loose around her shoulders and she hoped there would be time to have Van plait it before they left so that her baseball cap fit down nicely over it.

She heard voices in the kitchen and made a beeline for it, a little bounce in her step. Van, Tai, and Lottie were standing around the counter talking quietly and they fell quiet when Mel entered, which made her falter at the door.

"No, no, it's okay," Van reassured, reaching an arm out. "C'mere, Mel. What's up?"

"Can you plait my hair?" She asked, voice barely above a whisper. The quiet that had fallen over the room when she'd entered had been disarming and she didn't want to speak too loudly just in case it would mess something up.

Van nodded, directing her over to a chair to sit.

"Bud, we were just talking about how we might do something a little different from our normal hike today," she explained softly as she started separating Mel's hair into sections.

Mel stiffened her chair, but tried to relax her shoulders so that Van wouldn't notice.

"Um, okay," she replied, biting her lip.

"The park we usually go to is closed today," Van continued. Her fingers trailing lightly through Mel's hair felt nice, but it was hard to focus on when her entire day had just been blown to pieces. "This week's rain flooded the trails and caused some small landslides."

"Is it gonna be closed forever?" Mel blurted, suddenly fearful that she'd never ever get to climb her favorite tree again or carve another notch into the underside of the boulder she was using to count how many hikes they did there.

"No, buddy, just for a little," the redhead soothed. She finished tying off Mel's plait and came around to the front of the chair, crouching down to look up at Mel. "We were thinking maybe a lake. It's about an hour away, so a little further than usual, but the website makes it look really nice."

"Would we have lunch still?" Mel asked. She could feel her leg beginning to bounce restlessly as her mind whirled through questions. Would she still get to wear her boots? Would she have to put on a swimsuit? Would she have to bring a dry change of clothes? Were there bathrooms there? What if Gen got carsick on the way there? Would they still maybe stop for ice cream? Would they be home in time for her to watch an episode of her favorite show like she always did on Friday nights?

"Well," Van's mouth twisted, "no, we wouldn't. We'd bring dinner instead."

Mel usually had a sandwich for lunch when they went hiking. Sandwiches were not dinner food, no matter what Mari thought. Dinner food was fish or soup or rice with beans and Mel did not like the idea of eating those things outside. She could feel tears starting to press at the backs of her eyes, leg picking up speed as it jounced. Van put a gentle hand on her knee, not trying to stop it from moving, and tilted her head questioningly.

"What are you thinkin', kiddo?"

"I—" Mel hesitated, fingers twisting together in her lap. It wasn't that she didn't want to go, but it sounded too different from their hike days. She probably wouldn't get to watch her show or eat her sandwich and if she didn't even like the lake, her whole day would be messed up for no reason. "I just wanna go on the hike."

Van nodded sympathetically. She took her hand off Mel's still-bouncing knee and stood up so she could sling that arm around Mel's shoulders.

"I get that, Mel," she murmured. "The lake might be fun, though."

What if it was too fun? What if everyone liked the lake even better than the hiking and they started having dinner at the lake instead of lunch in the woods forever?

"I don't want to!"

The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could really think about them, frantic and urgent. She shot to her feet, turning to look Van in the eyes seriously. The redhead looked a little taken aback, but she nodded slowly.

"We could stay here, if you really don't—"

"No one should go!" Mel cried. She tugged at the end of one of her two plaits. "We should go to the hiking instead."

"It's closed, kiddo," Van murmured, brows furrowed. "Mel, what's so scary about the lake?"

She clamped her eyes shut, trying to will back tears. Van was quiet, waiting patiently. Finally, after a few moments of internal debate, Mel decided to just out with it.

"It'll be too different," she mumbled, cracking her eyes open to see what Van's face would do in reaction to her words. "I don't want people to like the lake more than the woods, and I want to have a sandwich and not rice, and I wanted to wear my boots, and I don't know if I have to wear a swim suit, and I don't want to get water in my nose or be cold or—or any of that stuff."

Van's face softened, confusion melting away.

"It's a lot of unexpected stuff, huh?"

Mel nodded vigorously. She liked the woods. She had a map in her head for how the woods would go and it made everything feel very secure to know exactly what was coming next.

Van sighed, rubbing at the back of her neck sheepishly.

"We probably should've told you about this a bit sooner," she admitted.

Mel raised her eyebrows like she'd seen Tai do.

"Uh-huh," she agreed, making Van chuckle fondly. She reached out to squeeze Mel's shoulder.

"Noted," Van nodded. "Look, bud, I know it's scary that it's gonna be so different, but I think it might be fun. And if it feels like too much, you can find me and we'll try to figure out how to make it feel better."

Mel gnawed at her lip. More footsteps pounded into the kitchen, Shauna and Mari's voices rising excitedly as Tai informed them of the change in plans. Shauna had a thing for sandcastles and Mari loved swimming, so the lake was definitely preferable to the woods for them. The thought made her stomach churn again and she looked at Van worriedly.

"What are we gonna eat for dinner?"

Van grinned, leaning in close to whisper by her ear like it was a secret.

"Sandwiches. And we'll pack yours in your lunchbox like always."

"Really? That's not dinner food," she replied skeptically.

"Maybe we pretend it's a really late lunch?" Van suggested. Mel mulled it over for a moment before sighing.

"Okay. Do I need a swimsuit?"

"Only if you want one. It might be a little chilly to get into the water all the way," Van explained. "We could always pack one just in case and you could change."

That sounded...doable.

"Can I wear my boots anyway?"

Van chuckled. "Sure. Why not?"

Mel nodded slowly. That wasn't so bad. She could still feel a million more questions bubbling up on her tongue and she wanted to ask them all right away in case she forgot them or Van got busy with getting Mari to put her sunscreen on and forgot about Mel.

"Will it be bedtime when we get home? And will there be a water fountain there? And bathrooms? Are we bringing the beach toys? What if my clothes get wet and they don't dry before we get in the car?" She rushed out.

Van blinked, brows furrowing as she tried to follow Mel's train of questions. Vaguely, Mel remembered a conversation about not saying too many things to Van at once, but she was too caught up in worrying about the lake to correct herself.

"How about," Van started, "I sit in the back with you on the drive and you can ask me all the questions you want. I can't promise to answer all of them, but I can do my best."

Mel considered the idea. Normally, she liked sitting next to Gen, but Gen would probably have to sit in the front for the longer drive. If she sat next to Van, she'd be able to put her head on her shoulder to nap and Van might even tell her a story when she was done with all her questions.

"Okay," she agreed. She reached out shyly to grasp at the hem of Van's shirt, sighing contently when she was pulled in for a proper hug. "Will you play with me at the lake?"

When Van was smaller, she almost always played with Mel in the woods and would run ahead with her on the trail and climb the trees they were allowed and play stick shooters. She wasn't sure if big Van would still want to do those kinds of things with her, even though she usually said yes when Mel asked. Maybe the lake would be different.

"Of course, buddy," Van hummed.

Satisfied, Mel pulled away. She was starting to maybe feel the littlest bit excited to go to the lake. Van smiled, noticing the way Mel's happy wiggles had started back up again.

"Run upstairs and grab your swim stuff and backpack, okay?"

"Okay!"

She started to turn to go upstairs before something occurred to her.

"Wait, bubba!"

"Yeah?"

Mel held up her pinky seriously.

"Do you promise we'll go back to the woods when it's open again?"

Van's mouth twitched, fighting off a smile as she tried to nod seriously for Mel's sake. She locked her pinky around Mel's solemnly, having managed to get her expression under control.

"I promise."

Mel nodded, pleased.

"Good."

And then the lake trip was fun and everything was ok in the end! Maybe part 2 on the horizon if I can get through the other requests I have (or just if inspiration strikes lol but I promise I'll try to get everything else out first)

[sunlight-apollo]

thinking about little!jackie, who won't even let nat say "damn" snapping "you fucking bitch!" if her sylvanian bunny is touched

[sunlight-apollo]

can you maybe write more about lottie and her pushing problems lol (maybe someone like mari or jackie snatches their toy back cause lottie took it and boom) maybe lottie has a chart for every time she doesn’t push someone when they make her upset lmao

I think Lottie's go-to reaction to anyone doing anything she doesnt like is to shove them over: like Mari takes the tv remote and insists she IS gonna put on Winx Club even though it's Lottie's turn to pick? Push Mari over. Shauna takes the last box of raisins when Lottie wants them? Push Shauna over (and then get pushed down bc while Mari is angry-crying, Shauna launches into fight mode). Jackie messes up Lottie's toy arrangement? Push Jackie over (and then get pushed by Shauna again bc she is Protective of Jackie.)

Nat tries so hard to teach her differently but it's also hard for her bc any violence is triggering for her and it makes her upset seeing Lottie push someone smaller over and have them collapse into tears. Her distress then makes Lottie upset too and it's a whole mess.

I think Laura Lee would teach her to fold her arms when she gets annoyed so that she CANT push anyone and she'd be rewarded with a sticker or something for using her words rather than giving in to her instict. When she DOES push the others over, she has to go and sit away from the others for a while which she really really hates: she'd much rather she just get shoved back :(

[sunlight-apollo]

Imagining Mari watching those kawaii animal drawing tutorials on YouTube and making older Shauna do them with her. Mari keep asking to “trade” because Shauna’s looks better

Van watching Mel do Legos for at least 20 minutes. And keep asking her “what are you making” even if the answer is the same every time.

Lottie would try to do lots of activities with them.

Akilah would have those little plastic animals and would make pens for them with the Lego’s or blocks.

Van having a problem with knocking down peoples block towers. Gen and Mari spending so long on a really tall one and Van knocking it over without asking. Mari gets so mad and Gen curls up in the corner and cries. Van tries hugging them but it’s too rough.

Gen and Mari would love rainbow loom so much.

Van would love playdough because of the sensory experience. She’d eat it sometimes and also mix the colors which would annoy tai and mari.

-🐨

She would so beg Shauna to trade, which Shauna's game to do when she's older, but if she's feeling younger, Mari asking to switch might lead to a mild argument. She knows it just means Mari thinks hers looks really good, but sometimes Shauna wants to keep the drawing she did because she's proud of it.

Mel's so patient about it too. She doesn't really mind that Van keeps asking the same question over and over because it gives Mel the chance to come up with new ideas to tack on to her explanation every time. Van is always excited about whatever Mel says too, which is a little confidence booster for her.

Lottie setting up an obstacle course or building them a fort or something and seeing it get demolished in less than twenty minutes but being chill about it because she kinda just really had fun putting together the activity.

I can see her building a full scale animal sanctuary (not a zoo, because she has ethical disagreements with some commercialised zoos) with most of the LEGOs and begging Van and Mel to let her keep it up for at least a few days. They're miffed at first, but then Tai's like "how often does Akilah make concessions for you" they relent. Van has no idea what concessions means (snacks, maybe?) but she sees Mel sigh and nod and figures she probably agrees. Akilah's very nice, after all.

It gets confusing when the towers get left up because someone is proud and didn't want to take it down yet but Van stumbles upon it when no one is actively playing with it and knocks it over for fun. When they come back to see the tower knocked over it's hysterics and Van just feels awful.

They're absolutely lording their rainbow loom creations over the rest of the house. They'll trade cool looking bracelets for better dessert or getting to pick the movie when it's not their turn. None of the caregivers catch on at first, but once they do, they try to stop it because Mari had Mel doing her chores for like two weeks.

The first time she eats it it's just because she kinda wants to know how it tastes, but then it keeps happening because she'll be making fake hamburgers to play burger restaurant with and then absentmindedly stick a finger in her mouth to get the bit of food off it it, just to realize it's actually playdough.

[sunlight-apollo]

what do you think tai and shauna's relationship would be like?

little!Tai + little!Shauna: Shauna is very protective over Tai. Tai being regressed is sort of a novelty because it doesn’t happen often, so of course everyone wants to play with and help take care of her. But Shauna wants that more than the rest of the littles. She instantly becomes so gentle and calm. Shauna can be having a tantrum and throwing things, realise Tai is little, and become very still and quiet so she can be trusted with Tai. She usually can be trusted, because it’s pretty clear she’d never harm Tai. Shauna likes to just watch over Tai while she colours or quietly join in if Tai is playing with her toys. Tai likes Shauna watching over her, it makes her feel safe because she knows Shauna will always listen to her even if sometimes she can be scary.

little!Tai + Big!Shauna: Shauna is one of the only cgs that Tai feels completely comfortable with, other than Van. She’s very anxious and needs to know whoever is taking care of her is in control all the time. Because Shauna can be so assertive, Tai feels safe with her. Also, since Shauna watched over her with her sleepwalking she feels safer with her again.

big!Tai + little!Shauna: Tai takes care of Shauna pretty much more than anyone other than Jackie. She definitely has to play the bad cop a lot because Jackie is a complete pushover, but it’s ok because Shauna is actually receptive to it.

big!tai + big!shauna: they are very close, as in canon! Sometimes theu squabble about how to handle the littles but are generally ok.

[sunlight-apollo]

< milk teeth au house moodboard >

layout here | general info/masterlist here

[sunlight-apollo]

Can you do a story about Van forgetting to eat then over eating later

Little!Van - Unexpected Friend

I tried to focus more on the aftermath than the actual fact, as I knew it’d be a little triggering for me to write. Still, I found this sort of cathartic - and not to get to vent-y here - but today is the anniversary of the event which led to my childhood eating disorder so, I don’t know, it felt good to write this.

Notes -> binge eating depicted, reference to food control, little!van, little!jackie, cg!tai, safe and sound au

Word count: 967

Van’s tummy hurt. She curled up in the corner of the kitchen, counter doors hard against each shoulder. Her body felt sickly heavy, nausea burning in her throat. She knew she should’ve stopped sooner - when the food started to feel less like it was filling her up and more like it was quietening her mind. But once she’d started it had been so hard to stop.

She’d forgotten all day, Tai had been at Uni and Van had been big enough to feed herself. At least that’s what Mari and Akilah - the only other grown ups in the house that day, had assumed. It wasn’t their fault exactly that they’d assumed a completely not regressed Van needed to be reminded when to eat in between tending the garden and wrestling Mel and Nat in a game of teenage mutant ninja turtles. But she had needed the reminders. The hunger cues had been silenced by her loud brain which hadn’t shut off until the whole house was quiet and still. Once everyone was asleep, and Van was up staring at the roof, she’d remembered how she was. She’d wanted a glass of juice, that was all, she’d ended up having much more. Once she’d started she couldn’t stop - because what if none of the food was there in the morning? So she’d ended up on the floor, stomach aching in a way that brought tears to her eyes. She felt small and ashamed, wishing someone would come and just fix it all for her. At the same time she desperately wished no one would come - no one would see the empty chip packet on the bench or the juice which had dripped down the front of her shirt because she just couldn’t stop drinking it.

Footfalls coming down the stairs only made Van’s head spin. She tightened her arms around her legs tighter, burying her face into her knees. Maybe if she made herself small enough they wouldn’t see her at all. The light flickered on, “Van?”

It was Jackie’s voice - soft and a little confused. Van’s stomach sunk in shame, there couldn’t be anyone worse to find her like this. Jackie was always so controlled with her eating - too controlling - but still the sort of control that Van envied. “Go ‘way,” Van grumbled, not lifting her head. Jackie stilled for a moment, quietly taking in the scene around her until it made sense to her. Once it did, she quickly busied herself around the kitchen. Van tried to stay as still as she could. Eventually, Jackie sat down next to Van.

“Water,” she whispered. Van tilted her head up a little, seeing the dinosaur themed sippy cup Jackie was offering. “It helps.” Van took the cup obediently, not questioning Jackie’s knowledge as she ached for the water to dilute the sugar and salt which were making her whole body queasy. “Slow,” she added insistently.

Van did as she was told, taking slow sips while Jackie watched closely. “Sorry,” Van whispered - cheeks hot with shame.

Jackie just shrugged, taking the cup from Van. “Not your fault.” Van opened her mouth to argue but Jackie gave her a harsh look, or as harsh a look someone in a bunny onesie could give. “It’s not,” she assured, standing up and placing the sippy cup on the counter which she’d already cleaned off. “I get it,” she added quieter. Van looked up in a little bit of shock, but the look Jackie gave her told her not to pry.

Van dropped her head back down to her knees. “I couldn’t sleep,” she admits quietly just to fill the silence.

“Me either,” Jackie responded, fiddling a little with the sleeve of her onesie. It was strange - Jackie and Van never really played together and Van wasn’t sure what to do now. She didn’t need to, apparently, because not a moment later Jackie blurted out, “Do you like assassins?”

Not even ten minutes later they were upstairs in the toy room, playing out a game of rabbit assassins with Jackie’s Sylvanian Families. “And then- and then- she pulls out a diamond dagger!” Van exclaimed, holding her bunny assassin up towards Jackie’s.

“Noo!” Jackie squealed, making her bunny cry out dramatically.

“What is going on in here?” Both little heads shot up to see Tai standing in the doorway - a sleepy but cross look on her face. Van shrunk away immediately, she should’ve remembered playing at night time wasn’t allowed.

“Van was sad,” Jackie explained quickly, and Van almost went to throw a hand out in front of her mouth to stop her saying anything else but Jackie didn’t even try. Tai seemed to watch them closely for a while, noticing how pale and red faced Van was.

“Ok,” she sighed. “Well, it's bed time now.”

Van ended up very quietly asking if maybe she could have a bedroom sleepover with Jackie and Tai, exhausted and slightly perplexed by how close the two had seemingly become in a very short amount of time, agreed. The two climbed into Jackie’s bed. Van had always pushed Jackie in her mind into a box of being far too girly, but her blue and white striped sheets were kind of cool so Van told her as much. “Thanks, my Mama picked them out for me,” Jackie explained, handing Van a stuffed cat to hold. “Do you mind her? You could hold Alice instead but I usually cuddle her.”

Van just shrugged, petting the cat's head. “I don’t mind. My Mama helped me pick my sheets too, dinosaurs.”

“Ok you two, off to sleep now,” Tai instructed gently, tucking the duvet up around their shoulders.

Once the lights were out the two drifted off quickly and Van could barely remember the ache she’d felt just half an hour ago.

[sunlight-apollo]

Nat loving trucks. Sure, she’s stoked when she’s presented with a new teddy or doll or something, but a new truck toy will put her over the moon. She’ll spend hours just driving it around the house because it’s delivering oranges from California to New Jersey. Van bought her a trucker hat as a joke, but she will wear it unironically.

Mel being the biggest fan of baseball. None of the others can sit through a nine inning no-strikeouts game, but she'll be glued to the television the entire time. Makes Van play catch with her in the yard and will sometimes set up a diamond using sticks and rocks, and practice running bases.

Mari getting really into music. Nat once found her in her room because she'd snuck in to listen to Nat's vinyls when she thought she wasn't home. She's annoyed at first and tells her to get out, but she starts making Mari little mixtapes and leaving them on her pillow for her to listen to, which Mari thinks is so cool.

Van having a stash of Legos. It's the one thing besides movies that can get her to sit still for any prolonged amount of time. She especially likes the Ninjago themed sets, because the dragons and mechs are cool, but she'll settle for flowers or something if that's what Tai wants. She gets so lost in her own world playing with the sets she builds or just making little creations from loose bricks.

Akilah wearing a different outfit every day just because she can now! They don't have to worry about making sure they have enough warm layers to go around and she doesn't have to fork over her favorite shirt to someone else after a wash day because it's hers. It makes her so happy to put together her outfit in the morning and she always goes to show Tai very excitedly.